Mike Sawyer’s Blog

The legal term to describe this bone saw is res ipsa loquitur (Latin for “the thing speaks for itself”).

Its existence alone makes the intent of the Saudi hit squad crystal clear. We don’t need an investigation to know the right thing to do…..

In six months to a year following a fun-filled, fact-free investigation by the Crown Prince himself, the right thing to do will not seem so clear. It takes time to set up fall guys and to normalize such occurrences. If we don’t respond now, that’s exactly what we are doing “normalizing human rights atrocities.” Maybe an investigation will tell us which appendage was cut off first, but we already know what we need to know.

Where we do need an investigation is to answer the question, “Why didn’t we warn Washington Post reporter, Jamal Khashoggi of intelligence showing that he was walking into a trap?”

I bet you forgot about that! It’s not your fault; everybody did. With the skill of a good mortician the administration has already severed that particular appendage from the body of truth. Out of sight, out of mind and overwhelmed by the looming investigation to find a suitable alternative truth about Khashoggi’s death, it’s been erased from public discourse.

It is rare to see such strong evidence come together this fast. It is rare for national leaders to do such a sloppy job of covering their tracks. There has been no time for us to divide into camps believing this version or that version. In other words, we all know the truth and we all know who’s lying.

The question is, “Are we all going to ignore a truth that brings with it a little pain?”

The truth is this murder and dismemberment was done on orders from the Saudi Crown Prince and he will never allow the body to be returned. Congress needs to confront this fact so we can move on the crucial political question, “Are we really at the mercy of the Saudis or can we somehow use their blunder to relieve tensions in the Middle East?” The proxy war between Israel and Iran in which the US, the Saudis and Yemen have become pawns has grown entirely too complex. It’s time to negotiate a peaceful solution or a way to get us out of the middle.

Someone died here, but people die every day and human rights violations happen every day and we tolerate it. What we can’t tolerate is the slow, methodical and torturous dismemberment of truth while Congress stands idly by again. For without truth nothing else is possible.